Ransomware Threatens to Expose Private Data

The agency says Chimera is a classic blackmail trojan which is now targeting specific employees in German companies with fake emails about job applications or job offers.

The variation is that the hackers threaten to expose pictures and private data if the 2.45 bitcoin (£450) ransom is not paid.

Independent security experts also see Chimera's latest variant as “new and scary” but are divided on whether its promise to publish personal photos is a bluff.

Bob Covello, an information security analyst with The Navigators Group, said: "Photos, videos, music files and all the other targets of modern ransomware add up to an enormous amount of data. If the data was exfiltrated to an external entity, not only would the storage amount to a massive collection, but the trail to the storage location would be easy for the authorities to trace."

As with most other forms of ransomware, the victim is cautioned to not pay the ransom.